Obamacare in the Trump Era: Where are we Now, and Where are we Going?

Authors

Daniel Beland, McGill University
Philip B. Rocco, Marquette UniversityFollow
Alex Waddan, University of Leicester

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

10-2018

Publisher

Wiley

Source Publication

Political Quarterly

Source ISSN

0032-3179

Abstract

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, is the most significant US social policy reform in half a century, and the most politically fractious. Since the law was signed by President Obama, Republicans have mobilised against it, using courts and state governments to undermine the implementation of the legislation, which was set to unfold gradually over a nine‐year period. As we describe in this article, however, the beginning of the Trump presidency in January 2017 marked a turning point in the politics of Obamacare. In the absence of Obama's veto, legislative retrenchment became a viable option for the first time. Yet, a combination of intra‐party conflict and opposition to repeal from key stakeholders doomed Republicans' initial efforts. Nevertheless, we discuss several reasons to doubt Obamacare's political stability.

Comments

Accepted version. Political Quarterly, Vol. 89, No. 4 (October 2018) : 687-694. DOI. © 2018 Wiley. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Beland, Daniel; Rocco, Philip B.; and Waddan, Alex, "Obamacare in the Trump Era: Where are we Now, and Where are we Going?" (2018). Political Science Faculty Research and Publications. 71.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/polisci_fac/71